W.H. picks counterterrorism chief

President Barack Obama plans to nominate the top lawyer at the National Security Agency as the next director of the National Counterterrorism Center, replacing a predecessor who started on the job during the Bush administration, the White House announced Friday afternoon.

The president’s pick is Matthew Olsen, the NSA’s general counsel. A White House statement says he would bring “a strong voice and critical knowledge to integrate intelligence in order to protect Americans across the nation and around the world.”

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If confirmed by the Senate, Olsen would replace Michael Leiter, a former Navy fighter pilot who has led the center for 4½ years.

Obama said in the statement that Olsen “has a distinguished record of service in our intelligence community” and “will continue to build on our strong counterterrorism efforts.”

“Matt will be a critical part of my national security team as we work tirelessly to thwart attacks against our nation and do everything in our power to protect the American people,” the president added.

Before going to the NSA, Olsen worked in the Justice Department as an associate deputy attorney general. From 2009 to 2010, he was executive director of the Guantanamo Review Task Force, an interagency effort to analyze intelligence on the detainees housed at the military prison.